Gustavo Fring
Gustavo "Gus" Fring, ''' Chilean immigrant and respected ABQ restauranteur/philanthropist with business history of both Pollos and Methamphetamine in Juarez mexico. He was chased into the Southwest USA before the cartels were interested in anything but coke. Not always the highly intelligent and influential drug distributor he is now, and one border removed form his former Juarez cartel associates direct influence he has flourished at delicious pollos and has managed to strike a distribution deal with the now meth savvy cartel. Gustavo was killed in the finale of Season 4, when Hector Salamanca detoned a suicide bomb placed on his wheelchair by Walter White. Los Pollos Hermanos in New Mexico, all owned by Gus, has a distribution chain reaching into states like Arizona, Texas and Nevada and serves as the market channel the drug cartels need, so couple with that Gus's mysterious true identity that only Don Eladio knows of and the cartel grants him his own territory to run as he sees fit. The meth is cooked by the cartel in Ciudad Juarez Mexico, where his wholesaler is Juan Bolsa. Gus resents this predicament of the cartel controlling his supply, it was after all Gus that introduced high grade crystal methamphetamine to them, it is his intelectual property from which the cartel now profits the most and the meth is low grade. Gus and Max were willing to share their talents with the Juarez cartel but the chatty young Gus, in illustrating their own middleman status to the Columbian cocaine cartels, seems to have written his own fate. He will not accept his chicken middleman status, not for the Juarez cartel. Despite having been in business in New Mexico for 20 years, he has never been suspected of any misdeeds and few criminals know what he looks like. He conducts his business with extreme caution, never dealing with drug addicts or those he sees as irrational or having poor judgment. This is due in large part to his established role as a legitimate businessman in Albuquerque - he owns fourteen franchises (throughout the southwest) of the fast food restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos a company that he started with the recipe of his business partner and cocinero in Mexico. This Franchise chain it is revealed is the only interest in the US food market by Madrigal Electrotomotive Gmbh. Gustavo has also overseen operations of a large industrial laundromat for Madrigal for years. In his personal life, he lives in a typical suburban neighborhood, playing the role of a socially concious philanthropist. His loved ones are completely in the dark. One can only assume he simply spends his days managing the various businesses and attending functions and banquets. He offered a cash reward for the info on Hank Schrader's would be assasination. He also sits on the board of at least one ABQ hospital. Character History Little is known about this mans past, except that he comes from Chile and is heavily connected to Madrigal Electromotive GmbH. To Gustavo's apparent surprise and distaste, Don Eladio seems to have some insight into his true identity. Don Eladio told him that "who he is" is the only reason why he is not dead in the pool next to his old friend, business partner and pollo hermano '''Maximilio Arciniega, at the hands of Hector Salamanca. Gustavo has a very special place for Hector in his heart. He had a flashback to his first time out, when he, Max and young Hector were waiting by the pool for a sit down with Don Eladio. First thing Hector pisses long into el hefes pool, then he proceeds to verbally hector the chicken brothers "one dark, one light?, don't look like no brothers to me" until the meeting is concluded and Hector reinforces his enthusiasm for blood to Gus by the poolside in a private conversation about the spectacle of his now dead hermano's blood in the defiled water. One of Gus's Rules, the one against out of control addicts like Jesse, is influenced by Mike during a meeting not long after the demise of Gale Boetticher. Mike does never want's to see Gus do his own wetwork ever again, so he brings the need for action regarding Jesse right to Gus. By making the decision to deceive Jesse and seek his loyalty, Gus begins to guard Jesse's life, as he would a player on the board. To Gus he was until then at best just an expendable pawn present only because it neutralized Walter. By season 4 Gus's contempt for Walter's ignorance of criminality and unprofessional flippancy has grown uncontainable. Gus, because of Walter, had to kill 3 (three) nice Honduran ladies, one top lieutenant and get mess on his shoe. Also if it weren't for Walter and Tuco having beef, Gus would not have become prematurely reentangled with la familia Salamanca or Super-Agent Hank Schrader. Gus also likes to think he sees things in people. He sees something for sure when he slaughters Victor, something behind Jesse's eyes. This having been confirmed, Gus will now allow Jesse a little leash, and with no small amount of trepidation, he is satisfied enough with Jesse's results to acquiesce to Jesse's will for Walter to live. Mike is the only person other than Don Eladio, that might know something more about Gustavo Fring. Gus is given reassurances by Mike that not even the DEA is going to find any trace of him 'before 89 if he can't'. Season 2 Gus is introduced to Walter and Jesse after the two's failed efforts to sell their meth leads to their street dealers either being killed (Combo), arrested (Badger), or quitting (Skinny Pete). Saul Goodman makes the blunt observation "you two suck at peddling meth," but as the two still have 38 pounds remaining, Saul offers to connect them with a distributor through "a guy who knows a guy who knows another guy." Saul manages to arrange a meeting between Walt, Jesse and the distributor at a Los Pollos restaurant, but when Jesse turns up for the meeting late, presumably high and agitated, the dealer does not make contact. Saul says later they likely blew their chance, but Walt, after some consideration, returns to the restaurant on his own. Asking to see the manager - Gus, who it turns out had stopped by their table on the earlier restaurant visit to see if they were enjoying their meal - he deduces that Gus is their contact after all. He praises Gus for his discipline and caution, saying that he sees the two as alike in that regard. Gus then drops his facade, saying that Walter is not cautious at all and exhibits poor judgment by bringing the obviously high Jesse to a meeting. Walt counters that the quality of his product should outweigh any of these concerns and that Gus will never have to see or deal with Jesse. Gus demurs on whether or not the two will deal, but then on a later visit by Walt he is approached by Gus's henchman, Victor, with a final deal: $1.2 million for the remaining 38 pounds, delivered in one hour or not at all . After the deal goes down, we see Gus with two other local businessmen meeting Hank at the DEA Albuquerque office regarding a fun run they are sponsoring. Gus notices Walt's photo on a donation jar and asks if Walt is an agent. Hank explains that Walt is his brother-in-law and that he is fighting lung cancer. While it is implied that Gus already looked into Walt's background before making the deal, this confirms Gus is aware of Walt's health issues and family connection to the DEA . Season 3 Following the success of the previous deal, Gus invites Walt back to Los Pollos and makes a new offer: $3 million for three months of his time. Walt, seriously jarred by the plane collision over Albuquerque and his separation from Skyler, refuses the offer by claiming he is not a criminal and wants to be done with the business . Gus seems to accept this, but later, when Gus's right hand man Mike calls Gus's henchman Victor to inform him that the Cousins are ready to kill Walt, he uses his influence with the cartel to call off the hit . Meeting with Juan Bolsa, the Cousins and Tio Salamanca, Gus is told that the cartel holds Walt responsible for the death of Tuco - an important man in their organization - and that his execution has been sanctioned. Gus says that while he has no issues with their right to vengeance, he is presently in business with Walt and does not want him killed until that business has concluded. Bolsa agrees to advise the Salamanca family to be patient, but warns Gus that delaying could cost him his high standing with the cartel . Successfully baiting Walt with half the money from a drug deal Jesse made through Saul, Gus invites him to his industrial laundromat where he reveals the details of his offer: he has constructed a massive "superlab" underneath the laundromat for mass producing methamphetamine. Receiving legitimate chemical deliveries every week and able to filter the byproducts of cooking meth via the laundry's filtration systems, the facility is capable of producing at least 200 pounds of a week. Swaying Walt with the high-tech apparatus of the lab, he closes the deal by appealing to Walt's pride in providing for his family . With Walt's services engaged alongside Gale Boetticher in the lab, Gus's attention turns to the Cousins, who have taken to sitting in his Los Pollos restaurant all day, ordering nothing and saying nothing. He reiterates that Walt will not die until their business is finished, and offers the Cousins permission to take their vengeance on Hank, who was Tuco's actual killer . However, when the Cousins make their move to kill Hank while he is unarmed in a store parking lot, an anonymous person calls Hank and, using a voice modifier, warns him of the impending attack. It is this warning that allows Hank to get the jump on the Cousins and take them down . After the attack on Hank, Bolsa contacts Gus demanding an explanation, as the Cousins would never have shot Hank without approval. He concedes that meth shipments will be delayed indefinitely, then vows to learn the truth about the assassination plot from the surviving cousin, Leonel. Shortly afterwards, Gus goes to the hospital with a large buffet of fried chicken for the police officers keeping vigil over Hank, also revealing that he is offering a $10,000 reward for information on the assailants. In a room with Walt, Skyler, Marie, Walt Jr. and ASAC Merkert, he mentions that he knew Hank from the fun run sponsorship and that Hank was raising money for Walt's cancer treatments at the time. Walt, speaking to Gus afterwards, expresses that Hank is not a danger to their arrangement but he continues to fear for his family's safety. Gus simply says that he investigates everyone he does business with and doesn't feel there is anything to worry about, as the surviving assassin's survival is doubtful. Shortly afterwards, Leonel goes into cardiac arrest and dies - murdered by a lethal injection from Mike. Following this death, Bolsa calls Gus up, angrily stating that he thinks Gus was behind both the authorization of the shooting and the death of the second Cousin, possibly as a move to break away from the cartel. Promising that he will weather the federal attentions and find proof of Gus's treason, he is interrupted by glass breaking and gunfire as unseen assailants gun down his bodyguards and then him. Hearing Bolsa die on the other end, Gus quietly smiles, then disables and discards the cell phone . {C As the methamphetamine production accelerates, Gus's method of distribution is revealed: he has the meth broken up into pound bags, concealed in buckets of batter for fried chicken marked with a star only visible under ultraviolet light, and taken to other states in Los Pollos Hermanos trucks. Walt, after calculating how much Gus stands to make off the deal - $96 million at wholesale price - meets with him to voice his theory that the establishment of the superlab was part of his overall strategy to cut the cartel out and establish himself as the chief distributor of the Southwest. He also says that he sees the shooting of Hank as part of this play, both to increase federal attention on the cartel and ensure Walt's safety. While not acknowledging the truth of this statement, Gus does agree to a raise and an open-ended extension of Walt's contract - $15 million a year - as well as continued protection of his family . Season 4 Mike calls Gus on his cell phone shortly after he hears from Victor about Gale's death at the hands of Jesse. A significant amount of time amount after this, he arrives at the superlab, gets undressed, changes into a hazmat suit, and viciously slits Victor's throat, holding him firmly and directing the aim of the blood in Walt and Jesse's direction. He remains eerily calm during the murder, and after he feels Victor die, gazes at the two of them with anger and disappointment and leaves his dead henchman on the floor while he washes up and changes back into his original clothes. The only words he speaks to them are "Well...get back to work" before he exits, leaving them to clean up the mess he made and dispose of the corpse. He tells Mike later that he does not want to lay his eyes on Walt ever again, which Mike tells Walt. He also hires a new henchman, Tyrus, who he instructs to go down into the lab and help Walt and Jesse with their cooking. Walt, fearing for his life and desperate, drives to Gus's house at night and plans on killing him in front of his family. As he walks to the driveway, he gets a phone call from Tyrus who's watching him nearby and is warned to leave. Gus gives Mike the go-ahead when Mike reports him of Jesse's current behavior. The Mexican Cartel victimize Gus's men one by one, until a talk is conducted between them. A man named Gaff threatens Gus that the Cartel is furious with Gus, and asks " Is it a yes, or a no?" Gus's intentions to negotiate are nullified. Gus is called in by the DEA for questioning after having a grim discussion with Tio Salemanca. In the previous episode, agent Hank Schrader was eventually convinced that Gus Fring was related to the murder of meth cook Gale Boetticher after a napkin was found with a serial number written on it in pen. If Gale was a supposed vegetarian, what was he doing with property that had belonged to a fried chicken joint? After a meeting with Merkert and Gomez, they decide to hold an office for questioning. After a seemingly harmless phone call at one of his resturaunts, Gus arrives to the DEA office willingly. While waitng outside an office for the friendly interrogation, Gus spots a missing person's report posted on a billboard across the corridor from him with a sketch clearly depicting Victor. Gus is called in by agents Hank, Gomez, Merkert, and APD detective Tim Roberts, who briefly ask questions pertaining to why his fingerprints were found at Gale's crime scene. Gus answers their questions with daunting accuracy. He answers as to how he knew Gale, when he'd last seen him, and his grief over Gale's death. Before Gus could be excused, Hank butts in, asking him," Is Gustavo Fring your real name?" Gus assures him that it is, and with another extraordinary explanation, he is free to go. Hank is still uncertain, but his colleagues agree that he is innocent, his alibi is unquestionable, and that nothing legal can get him into trouble with the case. Outside, Gus can be seen twitching his index finger and his thumb, nonchalant. Upset. . After Hank's suspicion of Gus, he convinces a denying Walt to bug Gus's car with a tracking device. Walt makes ammends to Gus, telling him that it isn't his idea. Gus tells him politely to do it anyway. After a day of work at one of his resturaunts, Gus unclamps the bug, and places it on a newspaper stand outside a Pollos Hermanos. Walt implores with him through a security camera he uses to monitor Walt that it isn't his fault, and that no action should be taken against Walt's brother-in-law. With that being said, the two enemies resume to their seperate routines. When an eccentric, bumbling Hank, and Walter return to a Pollos Hermanos to confiscate their tracking device, it turns out to be still attached to his Volvo Station Wagon. Hank boots up their tracker to his PC, but he is disappointed. From the data Hank's bug had to offer, Gus drove his car to work, then back home, all week. He does find however, that all of Gus's resturaunt establishments have a base of operations. Walt's meth labaratory. Knowing this, Walt alarms Gus. That day, Jesse is standing on duty with Mike at the facility where Walt cooks meth. One of Jesse's co-workers is sniped from an unknown location. He watches in terror as the one of Gus's men has their brains splattered about before his very eyes. The sniper's crosshairs center on Jesse, who is saved at the last second by Mike. Gus steps onto the hallowed ground. Mike presumes that Gus does not know they are in the middle of an ambush. He orders Gus to get down, but the boss walks straight at the sniper fire his body language says 'bring it on'. The gunman continues fire into Gus's path, intentionaly missing him. Knowing that Gus sees what he is trying to do, Gaff is satified his message is delivered and ceases fire. Gus is not at all intimidated but in his office after the incident, he tells a voice over the phone that he is willing to accept the Cartel's demands. Jesse makes noise to Mike about the shooting death of his co-worker and walking into bullets superman routine from Gus prompting Mike to set up a meeting, "you got questions?. Ask him yourself." Gus greets him at his door later on for a dinner meeting. " I hope you brought an appetite," he teases. Panic-stricken, Jesse wants to know what is to become of he and Walt. Gus replies by asking Jesse if he can cook Walt's formula without help. Disgusted, Jesse persists that he will not allow Gus to execute Walt and still cook for him. Gus describes that conditions with the Mexican Cartel have become untenable and he wishes to avert all out war. He pursues the question. " Can you cook solo?" Gus eventually takes Jesse to Mexico, to the land where his former hermano passed away. His plan is slowly coming to fruition: Jesse is his answer to the cartel's demand. He will offer Pinkman as his olive branch, to teach them how to cook blue meth themselves. He watches in pride as Jesse cooks a 96% pure meth in the cartel lab, proving he is indeed the cook for the job. In celebration, they take Jesse, Gus and Mike to a familiar location: Don Eladio's estate. Gus stares at the pool as Eladio emerges with his captains. Gus offers Eladio his favorite brand of tequila as a peace offering, and the ever-cautious Don makes sure Gus takes a shot before drinking any himself, along with his captains. As the party begins to rage, Gus excuses himself to go to the bathroom. Once inside, he lays a towel down and starts to puke everywhere. One by one the bodies hit the floor by the pool, and Don Eladio's face is smacked with realization: The tequila was poisoned. As a weakened Gus walks into his view, Eladio's face contorts with rage and he falls into the pool, dead. Gustavo Fring's twenty year revenge finally comes to fruition. Trivia *Gus drives a modest, black Volvo V70 station wagon, as to "hide in plain sight." 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